Cultural Heritage

Preservation is a topic that probably has been at the forefront of Library, Museums and Archives agenda for many years. However preservation of Web resources (pages and objects that are available from the Web – for some the Web is the only form of access) is a relatively new concern.

It seems that the strategic importance of Web sites is now recognised across most organisations. Many have established groups with a responsibility for managing these services and ensuring that they deliver their expected functionality. However it is probably true to say that Web teams tend to focus on immediate business requirements rather than the need to preserve what is produced. That said Web sites contain evidence of organisational activity that is not recorded elsewhere and preserving these resources can have many cultural and legal drivers, especially since the implementation of the Freedom of Information Act.

The preservation of Web resources presents many interesting technical challenges in terms of capture and access, and many organisational and resource-oriented problems, some of which are shared with other aspects of digital preservation and some of which are unique to Web resources. For example: How does one select material? When do we preserve the information and when is it the experience, behaviour or appearance that is paramount? Whose responsibility is it? The Web is transient, dynamic, technically complex and not conducive to traditional methods of preservation, so where do we start?

The JISC PoWR (Preservation of Web Resources) project which ran for six months in 2008 was an attempt by JISC to gain a better understanding of the challenges institutions face in preserving Web content. The main outcomes of the project were a series of workshops that brought together different communities who might have a role in Web preservation and a handbook which offers a wealth of tips and information for Web managers, data professionals and those making decisions concerning the long-term preservation of online resources.

Although the project has officially ended there are hopes to carry on the work in the future. One possibility might be to look at Web preservation in other sectors, for example the library sector. Libraries have historically been involved in Web Archiving Projects. For example the British Library, the Wellcome Library and the National Library of Wales are all members of the UK Web Archiving Consortium (UKWAC) which collects and preserves UK Web materials. However what is slightly less clear is what libraries are doing with regard to preservation of their own Web sites.

Do you have a Web preservation strategy at your cultural heritage institution? If so please let us know and what the issues are for you.